


Questions

by SpicedGold



Series: The Nara Family [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Answering important questions, F/M, Fluff, Mostly just cute nonsense, Starting relationship, With deer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-09 07:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15262521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicedGold/pseuds/SpicedGold
Summary: Shikamaru gets asked a lot of questions, and tries to find answers.Yes, they were spending a lot of time together. Yes, they liked each other – as friends. No, they were not dating. No, they were not having sex.No, he didn’t love her-Did he?





	Questions

**Author's Note:**

> I've got about six one shots of these two unfinished on my computer. Thought I should try get them completed.

Yes, they were spending a lot of time together. Yes, they liked each other – as friends. No, they were not dating. No, they were not having sex.

No, he didn’t love her-

Shikamaru often faltered there, suddenly unsure. And he wasn’t often unsure.

Love was complicated. It was confusing, and unnerving, and much too troublesome. Denial was easier. Doing absolutely nothing was easier. And Temari wasn’t the type to love, anyway. She was tough and bold. There had never been an indication of the ‘gentle side’ his father spoke about. Temari didn’t have a gentle side. (Not that he’d ever seen, and they had spent a lot of time together.)

“So, if you’re not dating . . .” Naruto started, in a falsely innocent tone that could foreshadow nothing but trouble, “Then what are you calling this evening?”

Shikamaru blinked. “This evening?”

“Yeah. Sakura says you two are spending the night together.” Naruto cleared his throat. “You know . . .”

“No. I don’t know. And we aren’t ‘spending the night together’, Sakura has false information.” Shikamaru really, really wanted to be somewhere else. Somewhere other than stuck inside the Hokage building being casually interrogated by his friend. “She’s just coming over because we’re discussing stuff. That’s all.”

“Sakura says there’s no reason for her to even go to your house, because all the information you need is here in this building.”

Shikamaru silently cursed Sakura. “Do you have any original thoughts in your thick head, or is it all just repeating what other people tell you?”

Naruto blinked owlishly. “Ino says you two’re dating. Chouji agrees.”

“We’re not dating,” Shikamaru repeated, exasperated. “For the last time, we’re just discussing things – _work related_ things. Because it’s _work_. Just troublesome, non-romantic _work_. Why will no one believe us?”

Naruto did not look contrite. He shrugged. “Maybe because you two love each other and are both too stubborn to admit it.”

“We don’t-“ Again, damnit, his mind cut off, unable to quite verbalise the denial. Ever the fan of a tactical retreat, he turned away, “I’ve got work. I’m leaving.”

Naruto’s sunny smile made Shikamaru want to throttle him. “Have fun!”

 

No, they weren’t in love.

Were they?

Finding himself at a loss, Shikamaru spent an inordinate amount of time staring blankly at the sky and trying to figure that out. They had never mentioned love. They had never discussed dating. In fact, they both actively avoided talking to each other about anything that might considered too personal, too profound. They were ridiculously superficial with each other. There was an undeniable connection between them, but, well . . . Neither of them wanted to do anything about it.

He didn’t want to bother, she . . . He assumed she was too proud to make the next step.

The fact that there was a next step to make was terrifying.

Should they talk about it? Was he being stupid to even consider thinking about it? Temari was brash and volatile, and he wasn’t sure he really wanted to be surrounded by that twenty-four seven. She had seen him at his worst; a snivelling, wailing, childish mess, but he had yet to see her in any state other than completely cool and collected, with undertones of violence. Could she even be nice?

He knew he was over thinking it, but over thinking was kind of his thing. It wasn’t like he spent a _lot_ of time thinking about himself and Temari together. He didn’t spend the days they had together savouring them. He didn’t think of ways to prolong their time together, like dragging his feet on assignments so they could work a little later, or insisting they order food in and take a break from work, because he didn’t want to say good night and eat alone and wait until tomorrow to see her.

He didn’t count the days after she left until she would be coming back. He didn’t wake up early when she was due to arrive, anticipation thrumming through his veins. He definitely, absolutely, did not dream about her. That would just be ridiculous.

“What’re you thinking so hard about?” Temari interrupted his musings, and he almost startled right out of his seat.

He had forgotten she was even there. The silence, the mere presence of her, felt so natural that he wasn’t even aware of it. It just belonged. It was normal. It was . . . something that made his life feel more complete. “. . . Nothing important.”

He was not a good liar. Temari was acutely aware of this, and just raised a doubtful eyebrow, before shrugging, and returning her attention to the scroll in front of her. He watched her work. He couldn’t help it.

No, there was no reason for them to be here. But the Hokage building was stuffy and boring, and Temari had never seen the setting sun’s rays filter through the forest. The view from Shikamaru’s back porch was spectacular, and why should they waste it?

Temari was working quietly, apparently used to Shikamaru’s on and off demeanour towards finishing tasks. He was lagging on purpose. He wanted the evening to last. He didn’t want her to leave for the night, he didn’t want to wait to see her again.

Shikamaru stayed silent, looking out at the forest. With the sun setting, there were strange long rays of sunlight filtering through the trees. The birds that had been chirping so loudly were beginning to quiet.

“It’s peaceful here, in the evenings,” Temari finally said. She was looking up at the sky, at a few lazy clouds, at a pinkish sky. The scroll was finished.

There was no wind. Temari was accustomed to having wind howling constantly. The peace, the quiet, it was foreign and new. Not unwelcome.

A movement in the bushes alerted them both, Shikamaru less so since he knew what it was. From the forest stepped a small, dark coloured deer. She looked straight at them, head held high, nose twitching.

Shikamaru thought nothing of it; there were deer all over the forest. You couldn’t take two steps without tripping over one. But Temari was staring at it, as though it was the most fascinating thing in the world, and that’s when Shikamaru realised –

Temari had never seen a deer before.

Not a real one, not a living, breathing, moving one. There were none in Suna, and she hadn’t stayed in the forest long enough for them to overcome their shyness and venture out to see her.

She stared, absolutely enraptured, and that made Shikamaru’s stomach flip weirdly.

The doe took another step forward, ears trained on them.

Shikamaru looked between the deer and Temari. Finally, he offered, “Do you want to touch her?”

Temari just nodded.

Shikamaru stood up, stepping down from the porch and settling into a crouch on the grass, extending one hand out. The doe knew him, and came forward without hesitation. She had long, fine legs, a delicate body, and big rounded ears. She sniffed Shikamaru’s offered hand, before licking his palm, in case he was suddenly made of food.

“Sorry,” he murmured. “Didn’t bring you any snacks.” He rubbed her ears, scratching the back of her head, and she leaned into the touch. He felt Temari join him, coming silently to his side.

Slowly, she sat next to him, on folded knees, unusually close. So close, their shoulders almost brushed. Her voice was softer than he thought he had ever heard it. “I won’t scare her?”

“Nah. She’s friendly.” He drew his hand back, and the doe, deprived of attention, took a step towards Temari to inspect her.

Very carefully, Temari reached her hand out, at first just touching the very tips of her fingers to the side of the doe’s neck. The hair was silky smooth, a rich, mahogany brown colour. When the doe stayed still, Temari grew a bit more confident in her actions, laying her palm onto the animal and stroking firmly.

The doe stood still, blinking moist eyes, craning her head into the contact.

“She’s beautiful,” Temari murmured, eyes on the animal, looking enthralled.

Shikamaru wasn’t looking at the doe. He was looking at Temari, at the soft smile, the peaceful expression on her face. Setting sunlight made her hair almost glow, made her eyes light up. And he suddenly understood everything his father had ever said about falling in love with his mother. “Yes, she is.”

The two thoughts that followed were simultaneously a surprise, and not in the least surprising. _You belong here with me_ , he thought. She looked so natural, so content, with the forest as a backdrop and a deer cupped in her hand.

His second thought was, _I want to spend the rest of my life with you._

The doe lifted her head, turning away to look into the forest, ears pricked. Something must have alerted her, because she backed off, carefully, politely, before bounding away into the trees.

Temari let her hand fall to her folded knees, watching the deer retreat with the same tender smile. It was when she turned that smile to him, without any trace of her usual brazen, forward bravado that his mind made itself up, and he leaned in closer, raising a hand to cup her cheek.

She could have pulled away. She could have moved away. (She could also have killed him.) She was faster than him, probably stronger, and much, much more inclined to react without thinking. But she didn’t pull away, she stayed perfectly still, bright eyes sliding closed. She might have even leaned in closer, but that was probably just his imagination running away with him.

Either way, he forwent the use of common sense and gave in to the urge to kiss her, gentle at first, but gaining confidence as seconds passed by and he wasn’t hurled into a nearby tree by a flurry of wind. She was completely unresisting, and it was that realization that made him come to his senses and pull back, blinking at her in complete surprise.

“You didn’t stop me,” he said.

“Why would I?” Had she always been this beautiful?

Shikamaru swallowed. His hand moved to the back of her neck, fingers curling lightly into her hair. “Because . . .” _Because you’re so out of my league its not even funny. Because you’re Temari, and you’ll kick my ass any second now. Because there’s no way I would ever get this lucky. Because you’re too good for me. Because . . ._

“Do the deer come back in the morning?” she asked softly, eyes on his lips.

“Huh?” For a genius, he was unable to make the leap between conversations. For a moment, he fumbled for words. “Uh, yeah, mostly. I mean, they do. They come whenever you call.”

“Then . . .” A faint blush coloured her cheeks. Shikamaru’s head swam. “Do you mind . . . If I come back early tomorrow morning . . .?”

She could be sweet. She could be tender and gentle. It was exquisite. Shikamaru let out a breath he hadn’t realised he had been holding. “Would you . . . like to spend the night . . .?”

For a moment, she just stared at him, gorgeous green-blue eyes on his. It was a moment that felt set to last forever, ethereal with the sunlight in her hair and the flush on her skin.

The next thing Shikamaru knew, the back of his head hit the ground and there was a body pressed against his, lips against his own, and further coherent thoughts fled.

Well, he had gotten twenty seconds of gentle Temari. It was a start.

 

Yes, they were spending a lot of time together. Yes, they liked each other – as more than friends. Yes, they were dating. No, they were not having sex. (This answer wasn’t necessarily true; but Gaara and Kankuro didn’t need to know that.)

Yes, he did love her.

He really did. More than he could have ever imagined.

So much so, that one evening when she was standing in a pool of sunlight, with a deer eating grain from her hand, he approached cautiously, nervously, but thoroughly determined. “Hey, Temari?”

And she smiled that special smile at him, the one with soft edges and glowing eyes, that lit up the whole world around her. It made his heart race, and hand clench around the ring, and he swallowed down his trepidation. “Can I ask you something . . .?”

 

The answer, to his everlasting relief, was yes.


End file.
